The Hyperion-class heavy cruiser was an Earthforce warship manufactured by KarmaTech at the Neue Hanse Orbital Shipyard in Earth orbit.

GAME NOTES:

-GRAVITY: This class of ship has no artificial gravity or rotating sections. The crew operate in zero-g. If they use the available straps to stay seated, they can operate with no penalties. Otherwise, they incur all the penalties for operating in zero-g.

-JUMP ENGINES: Instead of Hyperdrives, most ships in the Babylon 5 setting have Hypserspace Jump Engines. Instead of the ship instantly accelerating at faster than light speeds and be partially or fully in hyperspace in an instant, this drive opens an aperture, or "jumpgate", into Hyperspace. The ship enters Hyperspace and flies as though it were normal space, locking onto Hyperspace beacons that mark the destination to desired coordinates (though Hyperspace has conditions of its own that can cause hazards for ship travel). When a jumpgate is opened, the ship must still maneuver and fly into the aperture. This can leave an opening for the ship to be attacked before leaving the area (unlike Star Wars where a ship can leave immediately once the Hyperdrive is engaged). Instead of the ship's speed through Hyperspace being determined by the quality of the Hyperdrive, it is the ship's own flight speed that determines how fast it travels through Hyperspace. Also, Astrogation is used differently. Instead of doing calculations to plot Hyperspace coordinates, Astrogation is used to locate and lock on to Hyperspace beacons. If the signal from these beacons is ever lost, a ship could wind up lost in hyperspace forever.

Technical Capabilities

Like most Earth Alliance ships of the period, the Hyperion lacked the capability to generate artificial gravity, either through the use of rotating sections or the later, more advanced gravitic drive systems. Though rotating sections were within Earthforce's technical capabilities of the time, they greatly reduced a ship's speed and effectiveness. As such the crew had to operate in a completely zero gravity environment, requiring the use of seat straps and handholds to work effectively. In later years, ships such as the Clarkstown were seen upgraded with newer weaponry such as the 52mm cannon used on the Omega class Destroyer. Presumably as the Warlock class destroyer was able to generate a gravity field, this feature was added to the Hyperions as they were still operating in 2281.

Service History

Before the introduction of the Omega and Warlock-class destroyers, the Hyperion-class heavy cruisers served as Earth's front line warships, often supported by the heavily armed Nova-class dreadnought. Hyperion heavy cruisers made up a proportion of the fleet that was assembled for the Battle of the Line and though a great many were destroyed, the ones that survived continued to serve alongside their successors as the workhorses of the Earthforce fleet. Even though the design was far past its prime it continued to be in service as late as 2281.

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